By: Zoë Walschots
“I wanna love glitter and also stand up for the double standards that exist in our society. I wanna wear pink, and tell you how I feel about politics. I don’t think those things have to cancel each other out.”
– Taylor Swift, Miss Americana
Disney Princesses have had a long-standing history in the Walt Disney Franchise, with the first Princess movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937. Throughout history, women have been underrepresented in various aspects of life, calling for the rise of feminism: a social movement and systems of thought that include a ‘wide-ranging set of theories, politics, and practices that … contest the dominant gender order'” (Schiele). When Snow White was released, the ideal woman would be described as submissive and to remain in the domestic sphere. This is precisely how Snow White was characterized. As the second wave of feminism occurred, which challenged women’s domestic roles and workplace rights, public opinions swayed. Disney continued to modify its female protagonists in order to fit the new social climates and more accurately represent women. Different characteristics are pushed to be emphasized in these princesses, such as independence, ambition, and courage. However, this does not mean that other “more feminine” characteristics must be diminished to be seen as equals in society. The quote by Taylor Swift describes the idea that women should be able to continue to express their femininity without being seen as lesser than others. Disney has aspired to do just that: reclaim what it means to be a princess and empower women and girls to lean into their femininity while reaching their goals. Fourth-wave feminism, beginning around 2012, focuses on the positive use of the internet and social media (Schiele). Disney has leaned into this by utilizing online platforms to spread its messaging, seen through its #DreamBigPrincess photo and video campaign in 2017. By using real women and girls from around the world as its “Princesses,” Disney showcased their varying empowering stories, reimagining the definition of a Princess. Disney’s #DreamBigPrincess campaign aims to reconstruct problematic gender norms established in early Disney Princess movies in order to adapt to changing consumer demands, highlighting different characteristics of what it means to be a princess.
Disney is an influential force over women through its extensive reach into young girls’ childhoods, dictating much of the information absorbed during this time. One study found that only 4% of girls are reported to never engage with media related to princesses during their childhood (Coyne). Disney has leaned into its Princess franchise completely over the years, selling accessories, dolls, clothing, and more relating to the movie characters. The abundance of products has led to an obsession with princesses in many girls’ early childhood. This obsession has been dubbed ‘Princess culture:’ “a time when the obsession with the colors pink and purple, tiaras, twirl-y dresses, curled hair, and sparkly accessories dominate girls’ lives” (Leader). The combination of Princess media’s vast reach with Disney’s extensive marketing efforts has allowed princesses to influence the behavior and actions of girls growing up significantly.
One study found a positive interaction between female gender-stereotypical behavior during early childhood and engagement with princess media (Coyne). This stereotypical behavior could be a focus on beauty or the involvement in traditionally feminine areas such as the domestic sphere. Disney played into these stereotypes by initially characterizing its Princesses through this stereotypically female lens. The initial stories about princesses emphasize the presumed weaknesses society has about women, such as their helplessness, naivety, and focus on romantic relationships. For example, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White is restricted to domestic actions such as cooking or cleaning and is pictured as a naïve and fragile girl. She is a typical portrayal of an early princess through her characterization and the depiction of her in a big dress with a small waist and perfect features. Disney’s princesses up until second-wave feminism continued to be portrayed in this light. However, after this wave, the characterization began to shift, and Disney introduced more dimensional female characters.
While early Disney Princesses promoted negative stereotypical characteristics, Disney has worked to change this narrative to show the positive influence of female role models in girls’ childhoods. One example of the shift in Disney’s Princess characterization is Ariel in, the little mermaid who has an adventurous spirit, acts defiant to her father, and accomplishes her dreams. Similarly, Mulan is an independent and ambitious princess who steps into the traditional role of a man by going to war. Over time, these depictions of Disney princesses only grew stronger as Frozen in 2013 featured two female protagonists for the first time. These are also the characteristics that Disney aims to emphasize in its #DreamBigPrincess campaign.
Disney’s #DreamBigPrincess campaign turns to real-world Princesses, showcasing women’s accomplishments in the face of adversity and empowering girls and women to reach their goals. By characterizing these women as Princesses, Disney wants to highlight the favorable characteristics of their own Princesses in an attempt to redeem their original movies and maintain their relevance in society. The publicized goal of this campaign was to raise money for the UN’s Girl Up Foundation, a non-profit that provides resources for girls in developing countries. Although the campaign still promotes Disney’s products through its association with the Princess franchise, Disney shifted their primary focus to donating funds to a charity that supports women worldwide. This goal shows that Disney’s focus has shifted from wanting to raise profits for themselves to wanting to make a difference in women’s lives. On the other hand, this campaign could also be seen as a mask to make their original Princess movies seem more socially acceptable again. Taking attention away from the problematic and sexist undertones and focusing the consumer’s attention on more positive actions Disney has created can cause the public to view the company more favorably. However, with Disney having taken steps to increase accuracy and representation in their movies over time, this campaign is seen as a way to empower women to reclaim what it means to be a princess.
Disney challenged photographers from around the world to create powerful images of real-life role models and help support the UN Foundation’s Girl Up Program. One picture features Grace Bunke, who was diagnosed with aggressive bone cancer at age 11 (“Dream Big, Princess.”). Even with an amputated leg, she continues to dream big and pursue her goal of being a Paralympian runner (“Dream Big, Princess.”). She is pictured wearing a crown which is most associated with Princesses, implying that Grace is also a Princess. Since Grace is not royalty, the audience reframes the idea of what it means to be a Princess as exemplifying the same positive characteristics as Grace. Another image in which traditional Princess imagery is shown is that of Alice Parker. Alice is pictured with her youth soccer team, wearing Princess dresses yet also covered in mud (“Dream Big, Princess.”). Disney’s original princesses were presented as perfect images and the audience rarely, if not never, saw them “dirty.” Therefore, showing that these two ideas are not mutually exclusive through the image of Alice repositions what it means to be a princess as well. Disney shows that girls can get dressed in pretty dresses yet still partake in traditionally seen as masculine activities such as playing sports. They also convey that girls do not have to look a certain way to be seen as princesses, even if they are covered in mud; this does not make Alice any less like a princess. By using seemingly ordinary girls, Disney reinforces the idea that anyone can be a Princess as long as they exemplify positive characteristics such as courage, ambition, and kindness.
Disney also released a few short videos in support of the photography campaign. One of these includes the same girls featured in the photographs and asks them about their favorite princesses. One answers Tiana because of her entrepreneurial spirit, and another Belle because she is courageous and intelligent (“Dream Big Princess Photography Campaign.”). These answers further support Disney’s message that their Princesses have many positive and inspirational characteristics. Another video in support of this campaign is a comparison between girls living their passions and Disney Princesses. One of the headlines for this campaign is “for every girl who dreams big, there is a princess to show her it’s possible” (“Dream Big Princess Photography Campaign.”). One of these parallels includes Pocahontas kayaking down a river with a girl mirroring her. Another visual shows a girl leaving the library with a stack of books while Belle is pictured in her home library from the films. Besides highlighting the more dimensional characteristics of these Princesses, this also teaches girls that they can be a princess in any situation. Highlighting Princess parallels in more ordinary situations shows the audience that they can find Princess qualities anywhere and while doing anything.
For the video campaign aspect, Disney used influential female role models to represent real-life Princesses. These role models were interviewed by young aspiring storytellers, aiming to empower the next generation of leaders by capturing their inspiring advice. This part of the #DreamBigPrincess campaign further breaks down the barriers between fictional Princesses and their application in the real world. One story that was told was that of Jo Malone. Jo Malone was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age (“Dream Big Princess Video Campaign.”). However, instead of allowing that to hinder her, she looked towards other avenues at which she excelled, such as being able to identify fragrant scents. She advises young girls that “Dreams are so important in life… I would say stand on your tiptoes and reach for the highest dream because you’re worth it” (“Dream Big Princess Video Campaign.”). Allowing young girls to connect with these real-life female trailblazers shows them that women can reach their goals, no matter what they are. Disney uses this in their campaign to reposition traditional ideas surrounding princesses and maintain the relevance of its movies in modern society.
Disney successfully redeemed their Disney Princesses by reconstructing what it means to be a princess through the #DreamBigPrincess campaign. Disney’s call to action was to share this campaign, allowing them to gain more engagement from the public with their message. Their goal was 500,000 shares, which would mean $500,000 donated to Girl Up. However, the campaign exceeded this goal, and the shares exceeded Disney’s maximum donation amount of $1 million. Apart from social media shares, the campaign also reached a lot of other media traction, garnering blog posts and articles from worldwide outlets. Since this campaign was primarily published on social media, it is interesting to note the target audience. Younger girls have yet to get social media, which does not make them Disney’s target audience. The target audience would be the parents of young girls that may have felt unsure about feeding into princess culture due to the past problematic stereotypes surrounding it. Allowing them to see the positive aspects of Disney Princesses causes the parents to be encouraged to support these princess movies and possibly even drive them to purchase more merchandise. Overall, Disney’s #DreamBigPrincess marketing campaign repositioned the Disney Princess brand, steering it away from past problematic stereotypes that could be found in the characters to showcase the true meaning of a princess. Disney managed to stay relevant with social climates changing and new waves of feminism placing increasing pressure on influential companies to promote change.
Works Cited
Beail, Linda. “‘Dream Big, Princess’: Identity, Gender, Power and Nostalgia in Twenty-First Century Disney Culture.” Visual Inquiry, vol. 7, no. 2, 2018, pp. 87–91., https://doi.org/10.1386/vi.7.2.87_2.
Coyne, Sarah M., et al. “Princess Power: Longitudinal Associations between Engagement with Princess Culture in Preschool and Gender Stereotypical Behavior, Body Esteem, and Hegemonic Masculinity in Early Adolescence.” Child Development, vol. 92, no. 6, 2021, pp. 2413–2430., https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13633.
“Dream Big Princess Video Campaign.” Disney Partners, https://partners.disney.com/dream-big-princess-video-series.
“Dream Big Princess Photography Campaign.” Dream Big Princess Photography Campaign | Disney Partners, https://partners.disney.com/dream-big-princess-photo-campaign.
“Dream Big, Princess.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/exhibits/dream-big-princess.
Leader, Caroline F. “Branding the Disney Princess: Femininity, Family, and Franchising.” The University of Wisconsin – Madison ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 12 July 2019.
Miss Americana. Directed by Lana Wilson, performances by Taylor Swift, Tremolo Productions, 2020.
Schiele, Kristen, et al. “Marketing Feminism in Youth Media: A Study of Disney and Pixar Animation.” Business Horizons, vol. 63, no. 5, 2020, pp. 659–669., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2020.05.001.
